U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,451 is directed to a popcorn making machine and notes that popcorn is typically made by cooking uncooked corn kernels, which expand and burst into popped corn, the popped corn commonly being called “popcorn.” Each of the corn kernels contains a small amount of water stored within a layer of soft starch, the soft starch being surrounded by the corn kernel's outer surface of hard starch. As heat is applied to the corn kernel, the corn kernel heats up, the water within the corn kernel begins to expand, and pressure builds against the hard starch. Eventually, this outer surface of hard starch gives way, causing the corn kernel to explode. As the corn kernel explodes, the soft starch inside the corn kernel becomes inflated and bursts, turning the corn kernel inside out. The steam created by heating the water inside the kernel is released, and the popcorn is popped.
The popcorn maker described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,451 uses a combination of heating, agitation, and convection to convert the corn kernels into popcorn, and expel the popcorn out of the popcorn maker, and further describes that the popcorn maker should be easy to use, the corn kernels and the popcorn easily viewable and fun to watch during popping, the popcorn maker producing the popcorn in a quick, convenient, and efficient manner. In the prior art, the popcorn maker discharges the popcorn from a discharge chute into a receptacle of choice. The heating, agitation and convection of the prior art popcorn maker is performed by a fan, a heating element, and an agitator and convection unit. The agitator and convection unit is substantially cup shaped, having a bottom and a substantially cylindrical wall having a plurality of louvers therein. The louvers are disposed so as to direct heated air from the fan and heating element downward and towards a central portion of the bottom of the agitator and convection unut. The fan in the base of the popcorn maker draws air heated by the heater into the agitator and convection unit, the fan forcing the heated air through the louvers and into the agitator and convection unit. The heated and impelled air heats and agitates corn kernels in the agitator and convection unit, so that the corn kernels are converted to popcorn. The heated and impelled air also causes the popcorn to be expelled from the top of the agitator and convection unit into and out of a chimney, into a removably mating cover and then out via the discharge chute.